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Lacto-Fermented Pickles Use your choice of beets, pickling cucumbers, carrots, green beans, zucchini, redpeppers, radishes, asparagus, garlic, onions, etc... Literally any vegetable can befermented in this way. As an herbalist I would encourage you to think about any freshherbs be they roots/ shoots/stalks/tips/leaves you could imagine being preserved inthis way. I have pickled spruce tips, pine pollen catkins, mustard greens, mushrooms,and more... Your options are endless.  Pack a glass mason jar or ceramic fermenting pot (kroc) with desired vegetables youwould like to pickle. Add any fresh or dried herbs and spices for specific benefits andflavouring like dill, mustard seeds or a pickling spice blend. Now you need to create a2% brine solution. Instead of creating in a separate container as its own step, I add salt tothe fermenting pot and then cover with water. To do so, add about 2 Tbsp of salt perLitre of total volume of your container. Let it sit on veggies or wherever it may fall, it willdissolve and create a brine as you add the water. Pour enough water over thevegetables in the jar or kroc to cover them completely, ensuring your vegetables arefully submerged under your newly created brine. Place a plate or cabbage leaf andweight on top of the vegetables to help keep any bits from floating up to the surfaceand being exposed to the air. Let this sit covered by a cloth or with an air-lock system,for a minimum of 5 days and up to 2-3 months. Look for the brine to have turned cloudyand also for a nice sour/acidic taste and smell to indicate fermentation. Seal in masonjars and store in cold place like cold-room or fridge.  Further Herbal Variations: Instead of water use a herbal tea base for vegetables toferment in. This could be Nettle, Ginger, Elderflower or any other herbal tea.

Herbalist's Guide to FermentationWith Malcolm Saunders

Pickles, Kraut, Kvass & Hot Sauce

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Kvass A spin-off from beet pickles . . . Simply make pickles using chopped beets. Be sure toadd extra salt water brine for the beets to ferment in. Once fermented, eat the beets andthe brine can be considered your kvass. Great digestive and liver tonic that tastes great.Enjoy anytime of day, including before or after meals. 

Fermented Hot Sauce  This follows a very similar process to creating fermented pickles. Difference is you arepickling either just hot chili peppers or a mix of hot and sweet peppers, fermenting, andthen blending them together into a paste at the end.  1st Step: Ferment Your Peppers Mix A Salt Brine Solution ( 2 Tbsp Salt – 1 Litre Of Water) Fill Wide Mouth Jar w/ 2/3rdsSweet Bell Peppers & 1⁄3 Hot Peppers (or any ratio thereof) Weigh Down The Peppersw/ A Weight or A Little Jar Cover The Peppers w/ the Salt Brine – (At Least 1 InchAbove Ingredients)  Cover Loosely To Let Fermentation Gases Escape Let the Peppers Ferment At RoomTemperature For 1 – 2 Weeks. If White Yeast Develops on Top Just Skim it Off...Everything Under The Brine Will Be Fine! Store In The Fridge When Fermented ToCompletion. You now have Pickled Peppers which are great to enjoy whole or do thenext step to transform into a hot sauce!  2nd Step: Blend Whole Fermented Peppers ( 4 Cups) w/ Honey (1⁄2 Cup) & Garlic (2Cloves) &/or Any Other Spices You Might Like - Ginger Powder, Black Pepper, SmokedPaprika... Jar And Keep Refrigerated!  Note: If you find the bottled hot sauce still fermenting in the fridge and very active youcan add up to 20% vinegar which will slow/stop the fermentation and allow you to havea fridge stable product.

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1 cabbage (appx 5-7lbs) 2-3 Tbsp high-quality salt

Sauerkraut Enjoy Sauerkraut as a tasty and digestive addition to almost any meal, eat it by itselfor add to salads, sandwiches, wraps and soups. Sauerkraut may become your newfavourite and making it yourself is satisfyingly simple.

First remove 2-3 outer leaves of cabbage and put aside. Chop/slice/process yourcabbage and place in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle on the salt and massage togethervery well until the juices flow out while squeezing the cabbage. Mix in any otherdesired ingredients like herbs, spices and vegetables - see variations below. Pack intoa ceramic fermentation pot or use a wide-mouthed glass jar. Press kraut down untilappx. an inch ore more of liquid is covering the kraut. Cover with the cabbage leavesyou set aside then place a weight, such as a fermenting stones, boiled rocks, smallmason jar, etc... to keep the cabbage down under liquid. Cover with a loose lid, not tootight because it needs to release gas. Put in a moderate room temperature spot out ofdirect sunlight for a minimum of 14 days and up to several weeks/months. Check sealand pressure occasionally, as ensure that all the kraut is still submerged - you maywish to place the jar on a tray with a lip to catch the spill-over, as it may bubble overwhile fermenting. Don’t be afraid to open up throughout fermentation to taste test andsee when it is ready. You are looking for a flavour and consistency you enjoy. Whenyou wish to stop the fermentation process, transfer to smaller jars and store in thefridge. Finished kraut keeps for at least a year so long as everything is submerged inits own brine. Variations: You can be really creative with sauerkraut and have fun making very tastyand medicinal concoctions, adding any number and variety of ingredients to thecabbage base. Try varying the type of cabbages you use including green, purple, napa etc... Here aresome ideas to get you started: Vegetables: Cauliflower, Bok Choy, Carrots, Beets, Radishes (daikon, black radish, redand purple radish) Turnips, Fresh Horseradish, Burdock Root, etc... Sea Vegetables: Nori, Dulse, Arame, Kelp, etc...These add great flavour and brings ina whole new level of nutrition. For the really dry varieties of seaweeds, soak beforeadding in. Herbs and Spices: you can use fresh or dried, whole or powdered - Ginger, Turmeric,Cayenne, Garlic, Onions, Dill, Caraway, Coriander, Cumin, Curry, Juniper Berries, etc...Fruits: you can use fresh or dried - Raisins, Apple, Mango, Apricot, etc...

Kim Chi Kim Chi is generally distinguished from other ferments of its kind, like Sauerkraut,because of its flavourful spicy-ness achieved through the addition of lot’s of chilipeppers or chili paste as well as it traditionally contains fish paste. It originates fromKorea, where it is a staple food and its makers have special gloves just for the job.(Watch out when adding and mixing in the hot chili’s!) Follow the sauerkraut recipe concept above using green or napa cabbage or even bokchoy instead or as well as cabbage. Of course add in lots of chilis! I like to chop in avariety of root vegetables which adds a diverse vegetable component to any meal. Consider adding to the below basic sauerkraut recipe of 2-3 Tbsp salt per 5-7lbcabbage:1 inch piece ginger root, peeled & grated1-2 cloves garlic, minced1 Tbsp or more chili pepper flakes or paste

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